Your Telephone Calls are my Favorite Place (Karlnap)

Forty Six

"You could've brought me down mine." Karl said, putting the jacket on himself.

"You know I like when you-.." Sapnap cut himself off. "Couldn't find it." He finished, offering Karl a smile as he opened the door.

The two headed out of the hotel and joined the crowds of people on the sidewalk. Karl kept his hands in his pant pockets, and kept his head low. Walking was probably the worst thing for him right now, considering his legs were still recovering from last night.

"So.. Where did you go last night?" Sapnap asked, also keeping his head down.

"Just walked around town." Karl answered quickly, doing his best to weave through the oncoming foot traffic.

"You walked around for nearly four hours? You were walking around, outside, and alone until two in the morning?" Sapnap spoke, looking over to Karl. Karl didn't even have to turn his head to know that Sapnap was extremely concerned.

"Yeah. Just needed some fresh air." Karl said. He was doing his best to maintain his composure, but he quite literally felt like his legs might give out from underneath him at any moment. Karl was thankful when Sapnap halted his pace.

"You know how dumb and potentially dangerous that could have been?" Sapnap spoke, trying to come off as angry but just looked afraid. Karl sighed and faced his friend, using the pause in walking to stretch his legs a bit.

"Well I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon." Karl muttered, just wanting to lay back in his bed. Before Sapnap could speak, Karl turned around and started heading back to the hotel. Sapnap followed, brushing his hand against Karl's back when he caught up.

"Let's give them some more time, we can grab lunch from the bakery across the street." Sapnap said with a smile, leaning in front of Karl slightly.

Karl nodded, crossing the street with Sapnap to the bakery. Every time someone walked a little too close to him, he could feel Sapnap's hesitant hand pull him closer by his waist.

"Wait at the table, I'll go order us some stuff." Sapnap said, pulling out a chair for Karl. Karl wanted to protest, say he could order and pay for his own food, but his legs were begging for break. Karl sat, pulling out his phone to text George.

When you guys are done, let us know. We're across the street at the bakery :P

Karl slid his phone back in his pocket as Sapnap returned to the table, an assortment of baked goods in his  hands.

"I didn't know what anything was, so I thought it would be fun to try it all. Plus, I'm sure they'll appreciate a snack after their 'work out' when we get back." Sapnap laughed at his own joke. Karl looked up, unamused, as he grabbed an item. He had definitely found his appetite already beginning to increase now that Sapnap was constantly reminding him to eat more.

Sapnap and Karl ended up spending a couple hours at the bakery, finding conversations to come easily for the first time since they arrived. They laughed, talked about how idiotic Sapnap was for missing all the signs Dream's significant other was actually George, and joked around. Once their laughter subsided, Karl looked up at Sapnap as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I missed this. I missed being your friend." Karl spoke softly with a smile. Sapnap froze for a moment, his mug still up to his mouth. Karl watched as his friend furrowed his brows for a moment, quickly relaxing his face.

"Yeah, I missed this too." Sapnap responded, offering a half hearted smile. Karl figured he must've just been a bit uncomfortable from the sudden seriousness in an otherwise casual conversation and moved on. He looked down at his phone, seeing messages from George from over an hour ago.

I don't know what you're talking about...

You guys can come back anytime

Are you still at the bakery? It's been hours

Karl looked up with a sigh, signaling to Sapnap that it was time to go. Sapnap nodded, placing all the extra pastries in a to-go bag. As Sapnap pulled his chair back to stand, Karl felt the heat leave his leg. He hadn't even noticed that Sapnap had his legs wrapped around his. Karl did his best to hide his shock, standing quickly with his head down to his phone.

On our way back. We come bearing snacks :)

Karl looked up to see Sapnap already waiting at the door for him. Even in his most casual outfit of sweats and a hoodie, Karl thought Sapnap still looked incredibly handsome. Karl averted his gaze, mumbling a thanks as Sapnap held the door open for him. The two made their way back to the hotel and up to the room. The conjoining door was open, showing George sat on the bed and Dream walking around in a towel, clearly just having gotten out of the shower.

"Better not use this as fuel for round two." Sapnap scoffed as Dream took a large bite of a croissant. Dream instantly coughed, beginning to choke from shock at the comment. "Next time, maybe reconsider getting joint rooms." Sapnap continued.

"Nick!" George yelled from the bed, his cheeks glowing. Karl laughed and made his way into their room, collapsing on his bed. He finally felt like he had had a good day. He wasn't craving the icy water from a shower to numb him, nor was he desperate to melt into Sapnap's arms for once. He was simply content with laying alone in his bed. 

Karl smiled to himself, listening to the continued banter and denial from the other room. He put in his headphones, playing a random video from one of his friend's youtube channels. Karl allowed his heavy eyes to close, a smile on his face, as he felt sleep approaching.

Karl couldn't even be bothered to open his eyes as he felt his shoes being taken off and a blanket laid over him. The video had ended, so Karl could half hear Sapnap talking to himself. He wanted to open his eyes to let his friend know he was still barely awake, but his eyelids begged to stay closed. Sleep was coming faster now that he was all tucked in, the warmth of the blanket pushing him further out of consciousness.

"I hate it when you call me just a friend, you know?" Sapnap spoke quietly as he sat next to Karl, gently pushing Karl's hair out of his face so he could see the peaceful sleeping boy.

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(1,097 words) sapnap redemption arc?